The successes in Iraq keep mounting to the point even the die-hard liberal SurrederMedia has had to admit defeat – for the terrorists and extremists.  Check out this NY Times article, which addresses Sadr City, but reflects the reality of the entire Iraq war: Operation in Sadr City Is an Iraqi Success, So Far Iraqi […]

Update:  BTW, I predicted back on April 7th Sadr would surrender in the end.  Looks like I got one right!  – end update The final cleansing of the Mahdi Army control in Iraq is happening today as Iraqi Forces swarm in to take control of the last bastion of the Mahdi Army, at the relief […]

It may be that Pakistan is serious about cleansing the tribal areas of terrorists and militants.  At least that is what some recent reporting shows: Amid US concerns about talks between the new government and the rebels, the Pakistani military flew in reporters to show how it has sealed off the main access points to […]

Well, well. Seems the residents of Sadr City are damn glad to see the Iraqi Government show up. Example one: One of the aims of the deal was to impose a four-day cease-fire and get troops into the district a few days later to impose law and order, clear bombs, and collect weaponry used by […]

Lot’s happening in Pakistan as the new government tries to clear out terrorist from the Tribal Areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan (see map).  In Waziristan the government is working a deal with the local Taliban leader, Baitullah Meshud, that is supposed to allow the tribes some autonomy, but all terrorists must be purged from the […]

Sometimes you have to wonder if the news media is actually working for the terrorists, especially when they use headlines to warn terrorists of something coming their way.  Take this idiotic news story as an example: British and American Special Forces have started a secret operation inside the Shiite Sadr City of Baghdad searching for […]

On this 3rd anniversary of the Strata-Sphere we have mostly good news out there on the war on terror.   First off, the truce between Iraq and the Sadrist’s Mahdi Army seems to be holding (which means those citizens under the shadow of the Mahdi are getting a taste of life without Jihad): Iraqi army […]

Some rumors are running around Iraq that Moqtada al-Sadr is actually under house arrest in Qom Iran: Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr is present in the Iranian city of Qom, Asmaa al Mousawi, leading member of the Al Sadr political bloc in Iraq, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “We can neither confirm nor deny this information and we […]

In the weeds today so some short posts on news you may not have seen on events in Iraq. This article out of Europe has a reasonably good history, and well detailed overview of the Sadr/Mahdi Army conflict in Iraq. Interestingly these folks conclude the Sadrist have been crippled and Maliki strengthened, when all is […]

Want to get a taste of what is happening in the Middle East when Sunnis broke with al-Qaeda, when Shiites broke with Sadr and the Mahdi Army, when Afghans broke with the Taliban. There is nothing more shattering than to have the belief system that underpins your life and soul shattered. There is nothing like […]